HERBS AND NUTRIENTS FOR A HAPPY PROSTATE: MELATONIN
By now, most people have heard of the small gland in the brain, called the pineal gland, that releases the hormone melatonin at night that helps in falling and staying asleep. When young, the pineal gland is healthy and puts out an adequate amount of this hormone. As the body ages, the levels progressively decline. It is believed that the decline in the levels of melatonin with age contributes to the age-associated increase in the incidence of insomnia.
Over the past few years, scientists have learned that melatonin has an influence on a variety of tissues within the body. Receptors for melatonin have been found in heart tissue, spleen, colon, immune cells, and even the prostate gland. The fact that prostate gland cells have receptors on them has intrigued researchers. It is known that melatonin has an influence on seasonal reproduction and in development during puberty. It follows that it would have an influence on genitourinary tissues.
Drs. Eli Gilad and Nava Gisapel from the Department of Neurobiochemistry, George Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, and Dr. Haim Matzkin, from the Department of Urology, Tel Aviv Medical Center at Tel Aviv University in Israel, have been studying the role of melatonin in sleep for many years. They've also started to evaluate the role of melatonin in prostate tissue. In 1996, they announced that specific binding sites for melatonin were found on human prostate tissue. Melatonin has also been shown to suppress human prostatic cell growth and is known to shrink reproductive areas including testicles, prostate, epididymis, and ovaries in rodents.
Although no formal studies have yet been published evaluating the role of melatonin in shrinking human prostate tissue, there is a possibility that this hormone may eventually be found to be helpful in the therapy of BPH. The dose necessary for this use is currently unknown. However, if a man with BPH, also has difficulty sleeping, it would certainly be worthwhile to try melatonin. I do not, at this time, recommend nightly use of this hormone since we don't know the long-term effects of continuous use. However, using it every other night, or two or three times a week seems appropriate. I have followed many patients on melatonin for over three years and no noteworthy side effects are reported when the dosages are kept low, such as 0.5 mg, and patients don't use this pill every night. I have personally taken melatonin twice a week for more than three years without side effects. In fact, my sleep is better now than it has ever been.
I don't see any problems with the use melatonin as part of a regimen that includes herbs or pharmaceutical medicines. The side effects to look out for with melatonin include vivid dreaming, grogginess in the morning, and tiredness. These are infrequent on dosages less than 0.5 mg.
As melatonin is for nighttime use, it wouldn't make sense for a vitamin company to add it to their SP formula.
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